Or rather the trouble with buffets in general. We were at Tysons Buffet in Rockville last weekend and all I could think about was the possible spread of disease from everyone touching the serving spoons. This was after coming down with the flu.
As far as food goes - it's not the best, and it's not cheap either but there were lots of choices for the kids which was why we went there.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Flu vaccine
Despite having the seasonal vaccine I came down with the flu last week. I've been told by a health care worker that the odds are that it was the H1N1 since the seasonal flu is not really out yet - at least in the DC area. (Is this true?)
Regardless, my impression of flu vaccines have not been favorable. Of the 7 years which I've been taking the vaccine, I've had the flu maybe 2 or 3 times (counting this time). That's not a very good average for a vaccine. Yes, I realize that this is not the right way to make the inference - that it should be across a large population at one point in time but I think this emphasizes the point I'd like to make.
Which is, that medicine really is not a science if it has to rely on statistics to make conclusions for it. That randomized trials really cannot answer the question that really matters: What will it do for me?
Regardless, my impression of flu vaccines have not been favorable. Of the 7 years which I've been taking the vaccine, I've had the flu maybe 2 or 3 times (counting this time). That's not a very good average for a vaccine. Yes, I realize that this is not the right way to make the inference - that it should be across a large population at one point in time but I think this emphasizes the point I'd like to make.
Which is, that medicine really is not a science if it has to rely on statistics to make conclusions for it. That randomized trials really cannot answer the question that really matters: What will it do for me?
Prius-ed
From To Prius or Not we finally got Prius-ed - a used one from CarMax which at $18K with 34K miles on it. After about a week of driving it around I'd pronounce myself not so much dissatisfied but more disenchanted. The main thing is the mileage - we're getting about 44 mpg but after a week it's already down to half a tank. I was hoping to go 3 weeks without a fill-up but now I realize it's a pipe dream.
Fortunately, CarMax has a 30-day money back guaranty which as good as it sounds I'll probably not exercise since buying a car is a pain.
The electric motor doesn't seem to do all that much according to the energy read out on the dash. I was hoping to see it run all electric for a lot of the time especially when cruising at 20 mph or below on neighborhood streets but it doesn't.
What it did remind me of however was a dynamo that was attached to my old bicycle. It was used to power the lamps and the luminosity would depend on how fast we peddled.
Fortunately, CarMax has a 30-day money back guaranty which as good as it sounds I'll probably not exercise since buying a car is a pain.
The electric motor doesn't seem to do all that much according to the energy read out on the dash. I was hoping to see it run all electric for a lot of the time especially when cruising at 20 mph or below on neighborhood streets but it doesn't.
What it did remind me of however was a dynamo that was attached to my old bicycle. It was used to power the lamps and the luminosity would depend on how fast we peddled.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
A Brief History of Time
Finally got around to reading this only because I came across a blog post somewhere (that I've forgotten) which claimed that this is one book that many people will have on their shelves and have not read. Honestly, I was lost by about chapter 5 - I couldn't handle particle spins during college physics and I still can't.
But this caught my eye:
The first primitive forms of life consumed various materials, including hydrogen sulfied, and released oxygen. This gradually changed the atmosphere to the composition that it has today and allowed the development of higher forms of life such as fish, reptiles, mammals, and ultimately the human race.
What if, by preventing global warming, we are preventing the next step of human evolution?
But this caught my eye:
The first primitive forms of life consumed various materials, including hydrogen sulfied, and released oxygen. This gradually changed the atmosphere to the composition that it has today and allowed the development of higher forms of life such as fish, reptiles, mammals, and ultimately the human race.
What if, by preventing global warming, we are preventing the next step of human evolution?
Bernie Madoff exhibits
The office of the inspector general released a list of exhibits into the SEC failure to discover Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. I was mostly surprised at what seems to be the almost universal use of the Courier font and perhaps even a typewriter! Can't interviews need to be transcribed using a computer sparing us the ugly font?
Monday, October 26, 2009
The more things change the more they stay the same
How could the firm disappear in less than two weeks after one senior manager assured certain employees that the financial condition was sound - more than that, strong? How could any firm with $880 million in net worth go bankrupt?
Shades of the financial crisis of 2008? Actually, the bankruptcy of Drexel Burnham Lambert from page 8 of Dan Stone's April Fools: An Insider's Account of the Rise and Collapse of Drexel Burnham. Connie Bruck's Predator's Ball is more entertaining and readable.
Shades of the financial crisis of 2008? Actually, the bankruptcy of Drexel Burnham Lambert from page 8 of Dan Stone's April Fools: An Insider's Account of the Rise and Collapse of Drexel Burnham. Connie Bruck's Predator's Ball is more entertaining and readable.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Update on housing and wealth
My skepticism on housing wealth is reinforced with this nugget I picked up from reading Adam Smith's Roaring 80's:
We have really had only one kind of saving in recent years on a personal level, the forced saving of making payments on a house. Statistically speaking, the bulk of Americans' savings is the equity in their houses. The problem with this for the economy is that buying a house is not a very efficient form of saving. A house is not like a new machine that enables workers to turn out goods better and cheaper. Nor is a house like a new company that will employ workers. Homeownership is a stabilizing social force, but it really doesn't help us compete.
I'm not sure I'd fully agree with all of the above but there is at least several research topics in there:
1. Is buying a house an efficient form of saving, i.e. is there an asset with higher returns and lower standard deviation?
2. Does owning a home provide consumption smoothing benefits over an alternative asset?
3. If savings were in the form of another asset what would the effect be on investment and productivity?
We have really had only one kind of saving in recent years on a personal level, the forced saving of making payments on a house. Statistically speaking, the bulk of Americans' savings is the equity in their houses. The problem with this for the economy is that buying a house is not a very efficient form of saving. A house is not like a new machine that enables workers to turn out goods better and cheaper. Nor is a house like a new company that will employ workers. Homeownership is a stabilizing social force, but it really doesn't help us compete.
I'm not sure I'd fully agree with all of the above but there is at least several research topics in there:
1. Is buying a house an efficient form of saving, i.e. is there an asset with higher returns and lower standard deviation?
2. Does owning a home provide consumption smoothing benefits over an alternative asset?
3. If savings were in the form of another asset what would the effect be on investment and productivity?
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